. >> it would be the roe v. wade of our generation. >> reporter: they have their critics, conservative legal analyst ed whalen. >> there is nothing in the constitution properly construing that remotely supports a right to same sex marriage. >> reporter: and even some of those who agree with olson and boies say that same sex marriage should be left to the states. there are lots of skeptics out there who say you're going too quickly here, and you're asking the supreme court to do a pretty heavy lift. >> every civil rights struggle, there have always been people who said you're moving too fast, country is not ready for it. how many people in 1954 were saying, country is not ready for desegregation, brown against board of education, too soon. >> reporter: but everyone says this is a conservative court. why are you doing it now? >> because ted is a conservative guy. there are lots of conservative people, the idea that civil rights and human rights is exclusively a liberal preserve, i think it is flat wrong. >> report